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Pomi – BPA Free Crushed Tomatoes [Product Test]

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Following up on the yesterday’s blog post, we recently took a look at POMI canned tomatoes, that come in a BPA-free package. Penny, a fooducate product tester got a a test pack sent to her home and had only good things to say:

I personally liked them a lot. They make three different products: marinara sauce, strained tomatoes which I received and is similar to tomato sauce as well as chopped tomatoes. I also got a box of those and the chopped tomatoes seem to be a cross between diced and crushed tomatoes. Here’s a picture of the chopped tomatoes in the box.

The neat thing is they don’t take up as much space in your cabinet because of their shape. Bonus point for that especially if you lack kitchen space.

Here’s all the important NO’s you will find with this product: NO preservatives, added colors, GMO’s, artificial flavors, added water, salt or citric acid.

Now the most important thing of them all – how did they taste. Well, they tasted exactly like they should. They tasted like fresh tomatoes. Which is a good thing right?

Would I buy them if I saw them in the store? Yes I would. Pomi would win over other brands because of no GMO’s, the great box shape and especially being BPA free.

In case you were wondering, POMI rates high on the Fooducate iPhone app:

What to do at the supermarket:

Pomi is in the minority, as 92% of canned and packed products do have BPA in the packaging. There are some brands that are committed to being BPA-free (see yesterday’s post), but unless you see a BPA free label, assume you’re getting it. Organic does not mean BPA-free.

Disclosure: Ah, the perks of food blogging…Pomi Marketing contacted us and offered to send  us samples. We had them sent to a family of volunteer testers. We did not pay for the samples. We were not paid to post this blog nor were we instructed in any which way regarding its content. In fact, we forewarned the good people at Pomi  that we are skeptical and scathing of most  products sent our way. If you would like to have something new and possibly tasty sent to you, why not become a Fooducate Product Tester? Just shoot us an email with your mailing address, telling us why you’d like to be a product tester. blog [at] fooducate [dot] com.

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  • Paula

    This is nice to read. I had come to the conclusion a few months ago that Pomi is the only brand of BPA free “canned” tomatoes that I can find locally so I’ve switched over to them.

  • http://www.awakenedwellness.com Rachel Assuncao

    I think the packaging is a brilliant idea – BPA free and likely still fully recyclable. And canned tomatoes that actually taste like fresh would be really great through the winter months.

    I notice on the box that it’s marketed as a ‘Product of Italy’. Are the tomatoes really grown in Italy, packaged and shipped here? Sounds like an amazing opportunity for a local tomato grower to get into the market and offer a locally grown version too.

    • http://www.fooducate.com/blog Editorial Staff

      @Rachel yes, viva Italia…

  • Margaret

    I have used Pomi tomatoes before and liked them very much. Trader Joe’s used to carry a similar “Starter Sauce” tomato product which was excellent too, but they disappeared from the shelves and so far have never returned.

  • elisabeth

    I’ve used this product since it appeared at our local food co-op. It reminds me of the sauce that my mother (from Sicily) made. I also buy sometimes buy tomato products in glass — there is a strained tomato product from Italy that is very good. We think of glass as a good substitute for canned good (baked beans are available in glass, for example) and are glad to recycle the glass.

  • http://thelunchtray.com Bettina

    In an effort to avoid BPA I just tried this product in a glass bottle from Cento (available at Whole Foods) and was really pleased. Food magazines always recommend San Marzano tomatoes, and these were quite good. http://ruggierosmarket.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=383

  • Diane

    I agree that Pomi is a good product. I buy it when fresh tomatoes are not in season. But yes, they travel from Italy, so you’re dealing with an imported product and all that it entails. Also, Cook’s Illustrated, a mag I admire, recently rated processed tomatoes and hated Pomi. They thought the texture and flavor was not nearly as good as other brands.

  • http://www.TheLivingGreenSolution.com Lane’

    Would be nice if they were organic – I’m not sure what types of pesticides are used in Italy and even better if they were local. But a BPA free container is great! Speaking of which, what is the packaging made from? Can it be recycled (is it similar to the chicken/beef broth containers)?

  • http://www.pomi.us.com/home.php Pomi

    @Lane’
    Lane- thank you for your comments and questions. To answer if Pomi is organic, Pomi’s manufacturer Boschi is a certified producer of organic products in Italy. Also, Pomi’s tomatoes are never grown with herbicides or pesticides. The process is all natural which produces the highest quality and most natural tomatoes. We do not use genetically modified seeds to grow our tomatoes either. Pomi abides by the European Union’s regulations for sustainable agriculture. Italy has much stricter policies with regards to what is considered organic and how farmer’s grow their crops.

    With regards to the packaging, it is similar to the chicken/beef containers you are referring to. It is called a SIG Combibloc. The SIG Combibloc carton packaging is made from up to 75% wood fiber obtained from sustainable forests. This means that carton packaging is made from natural and renewable raw materials that can be traced all the way back to its source. Pomi’s packaging is fully recyclable.

    I hope this helps and please visit http://www.pomi.us.com/home.php if you have any further questions.

  • Doug

    I have used Pomi products for years. The fact it comes without seasonings, salt, etc. allows me to put in exactly what I want without having to guess what was put in by the canner. The only negative is that it is hard to find on the shelves, major chain grocery stores generally do not stock it.

  • Karen

    Glad to see this thread w/the website address for Pomi. I was a devotee of Pomi until just a few days ago. I’d had a bad batch of chopped tomatoes, in that they were not chopped but crushed, but chalked it up to poor quality control of an individual batch; it happens. However, the other day, I opened another package of chopped tomatoes from a different batch and found a very large amount of *black* in the contents. When I inspected what I had there, I found a number of black, slimy tomato seeds and tomato meat pieces w/skins that had black spots on them. The package is marked good through 02/2011. I’ve grown my own vegetables for many years and am sad to say that the tomatoes used for this batch had obviously been left around long enough to begin to rot. I have two others packages in my pantry and am a bit leery of them, frankly. They’re from another batch, though, so I’m hoping they’re OK. Regardless, my confidence in the product is shot. : (

    • christine

      hello – i have been going through this for 4 months.  one out of ten pkgs is good. yes, the exp date is 2012 but most are rancid.  does anyone find this? i am now at a loss for a good sauce..going to very expensive jars…..does anyone have a number or web to contact them? am i the only one?
      christine

  • http://att.net susan mcleod

    please send me a telephone number for pomi tomatoes so i can order cases

  • Jessica saari

    Just wondering: Did Pomi manufacturers specifically mention that their packaging doesn’t contain BPA? I’ve been using this product in the hopes that it didn’t, but never understood why they wouldn’t broadcast this advantage clearly on the front of the package. You’d think that would be a huge selling point. Instead, it’s a fact that’s almost buried and hidden. So I just started wondering if the product is in fact free of BPA, since I can’t even find the information anywhere but blogs.

  • Jessica

    Just wondering: Did Pomi manufacturers specifically mention that their packaging doesn’t contain BPA? I’ve been using this product in the hopes that it didn’t, but never understood why they wouldn’t broadcast this advantage clearly on the front of the package. You’d think that would be a huge selling point. Instead, it’s a fact that’s almost buried and hidden. So I just started wondering if the product is in fact free of BPA, since I can’t even find the information anywhere but blogs.

  • Thebubbacat

    Actually POMI and tetra pak do leach out synthetic estrogen hormones.  I was very upset to find this out because I use them a lot in my soups and sauces to avoid BPA.  So while it is an alternative to canned(and better than most brand name canned as far as salt and preservatives go) you should know that it still leaches bad things.  Here is the article.  http://www.greencradle.net/2009/11/are-tetra-paks-a-healthier-or-greener-container-for-organic-foods/

  • Virginia

    i have the same exact container you show and it does not say BPA free…so it is not? also I read that things that are BPA free are made with even worse products. is that true? and is it the case for the POMI’? thanks.